Thinking about it, Chen Jie, somewhat restless, also collected the anklet.
As for the remaining gold and silver jewelry, there were plenty. Chen Jie looked at Xiao Hu and said, "Hu Zi, pick one."
Xiao Hu replied, "Jiu Si, I don’t have a wife, what do I need this for!"
Hearing this, Chen Jie said, "You don’t have one now, but you will in the future. Pick one so you have something to give later."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Hu casually picked up a golden bracelet. It was quite heavy, though not exquisitely styled. However, such a large gold bracelet would certainly attract the average woman.
Xiao Hu said, "I’ll take this one."
Seeing this, Chen Jie didn’t say much. His silly brother just didn’t get it.
Besides the gold and silver jewelry they had picked, there were about twelve or thirteen exquisite pieces left. Chen Jie packed them up, ready to reward his deserving followers in the future.
As a gang leader, he needed to have items to reward his subordinates.
Having acquired the gold and silver jewelry, Chen Jie frowned tightly because he felt something was off. To have such an elaborate theft-proof door that only an Energy Transformation Master could open, only to guard some gold and silver, seemed unlike Nan Batian who seemed more far-sighted.
Thinking this, Chen Jie tapped on the walls, suspecting that what was visible was merely a diversion, and that the truly valuable items were still hidden. There had to be more than meets the eye here!
Chen Jie knocked around and eventually stamped his foot, suddenly realizing that the ground beneath him seemed hollow.
"What’s wrong, Jiu Si?" Xiao Hu inquired, looking at Chen Jie.
Chen Jie said, "I feel like the floor is hollow."
Xiao Hu, startled, immediately tapped the stone slab in front of him lightly. As he tapped, his eyes suddenly lit up, and immediately he said, "Jiu Si, look, there’s some sort of handle."
Indeed, Chen Jie saw that there was a concealed handle on the stone slab. If one weren’t careful, it definitely couldn’t be spotted.
Approaching, Chen Jie grasped the handle and gave it a strong pull, accompanied by the rattling sound of a chain.
This handle wasn’t the kind one might imagine on clothing, but rather a mechanism involving a chain fastened to the floor, used to lift the stone slab.
With some exertion, Chen Jie opened the stone slab, revealing a cellar underneath.
One staircase extended downward. Zhou Chu, upon seeing this, commented, "Nan Batian, that old fox is clever, isn’t he? Placing some movable wealth to let someone push open the outer door, they’d be blinded by the gold and jewels at first sight. Who would have thought that beneath the floor there was another cellar!"
Chen Jie responded, "How could he dominate Mianshui for twenty years if he were a fool?"
Zhou Chu fell silent, indeed. That old man had indeed dominated Mianshui for twenty years and had almost suffocated Elder Liu with his presence.
One could call Nan Batian wicked, unscrupulous, and cruel, but not impotent. A true incompetent couldn’t achieve such feats in Mianshui County!
Hearing this, Zhou Chu nodded. That’s right, one can’t say Nan Batian is incompetent, only that Chen Jiusi is more monstrous!
Chen Jie said, "Let’s go down and take a look."
Having heard this, Xiao Hu said, "I’ll go first."
Chen Jie, looking at Xiao Hu, knew he was worried about possible mechanisms down there. At times like these, his silly younger brother always took the lead.
Chen Jie said, "Be careful."
At this moment, Zhou Chu pulled out a Fire Stick, stepped out of the secret room, took a few books, rushed back in, and then ignited a book, throwing it down the stairs.
Instantly, the staircase was revealed, and then they saw a lamp on the wall.
The three went down and soon spotted an oil lamp. Lighting the first one illuminated enough space to reach the next. In this manner, they lit the lamps along the way until the entire secret room was thoroughly brightened.
It was a large secret room, the size of a three-bedroom apartment.
In the center was a spacious living room, furnished with tables, chairs, stools, and a bed, suggesting that Nan Batian had lived here for some time.
From the living room, they split up.
Each side had two rooms. Chen Jie arrived in front of a room and saw inside a huge cabinet labeled with various medicinal herbs.
Chen Jie’s eyes instantly lit up. Herbs, these were treasure!
Nan Batian had hoarded medicinal herbs for twenty years; surely, there would be herbs that Chen Jie needed.
From Qiao Hongyan Han He, Chen Jie had received an Elixir Recipe (Qi Blood Pill) that required a vast amount of medicinal herbs. Until now, he lacked several main and auxiliary medicines.
Thinking this, Chen Jie searched among the herbs.
After going through everything, Chen Jie was thrilled to find that Nan Batian’s twenty years of accumulation really did include some excellent items.
He now had all the auxiliary medicines needed to refine the [Qi Blood Pill].
Chen Jie even found a piece of unrefined [Tai Sui Meat].
The two main medicines for the Qi Blood Pill were [Green Water Red Fruit] and [Tai Sui Meat].
Now that he had the Tai Sui Meat and auxiliary medicines, all he needed was the Green Water Red Fruit. If he could obtain this ingredient, he could refine the [Qi Blood Pill] and truly enter the Qi Blood Holding Core Realm.
Unfortunately, Nan Batian didn’t have the [Green Water Red Fruit].
Chen Jie thought that if it really came down to it, he would ask Elder Liu if he had the Green Water Red Fruit.
But for now, things were looking up. Previously, the medicinal herbs he lacked had made refining the [Qi Blood Pill] nearly impossible.